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H
ard at
W
ork
game starts at 6:30
a
.
m
. He and his staff spend the first few hours
assessing new injuries and assist players beginning rehab. They
never know exactly what they’re going to face: “We could have a
week where we don’t get anybody hurt or we could have a week
where we have 30 new people or someone we’re scheduling for
surgery.”
Based on the initial assessment of the players, Howard then
meets with the coaches, to let them know the player’s availability
for practice during the coming week. The athletic trainer, like
other sports medicine staff, also spends time writing reports to
document the nature of the injury and the treatment plan.
For away games, the athletic trainers for major sports
pack up trunks with all the medical supplies they might need
on game day, such as bandages, braces, ice packs, splints, and
crutches. Then they travel with the team for the event. While
teams might go to beautiful cities to play, the trainers have no
time for sightseeing. “It’s a business trip,” Howard said.
At the professional level, the athletic trainers’ season
doesn’t end with the final game. Leigh Weiss, of the New York
Giants, told AOL Jobs, “Despite the season only being four to
five months out of the year, there is very little down time for
athletic trainers in the NFL.” They work with team doctors to